One Year Later, And Fighting On

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This week we’re applauding the brave people who continue to come forward against their abusers, celebrating a much-needed election night win, and keeping conference season fresh.

What we’re checking out…

The past couple of weeks have been an absolute roller coaster in the news cycle.

It was a tragic start to the week after the massacre at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. In response to the right’s tired call not to immediately politicize tragedy (at least when the perpetrator is white), the New York Times created a counter for every recent mass shooting to help us calculate exactly when it’s okay to start discussing gun control.

In more good news, charges were officially dropped against Desiree Fairooz, the woman who involuntarily laughed during Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing in January. We’re tempted to shout about how ridiculous it is she was charged in the first place, but in the dystopian hellscape of 2017, we’ll take any good news we can get.

Our reFRESHing Talk of the Week comes from FRESH friend Evita Turquoise Robinson telling the power of the black travel movement and how she’s been invigorating it for the current generation.

The latest from our speakers…

Our speakers have been hitting up all the major conferences this fall. From TED Women and the Women’s Convention to the Obama Foundation Summit, they’ve been giving talks and cheering each other on.

Liz Ogbu, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Sally Kohn, and FRESH Co-Founder John Cary all gave talks at TEDWomen in New Orleans. While they aren’t available online yet, we can tell you the reception in person and online was phenomenal. In the meantime, you can watch this Facebook Live interview with Sally Kohn at TED Women about reporting news to people on both sides of the political aisle.

On Mic this week, Samhita Mukhopadhyayanswered her most frequently asked question from her recent Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump’s America book tour, “How do you find hope when it feels like everything is going to shit?”

You might start seeing Tiq Milan on the New York City subway. He’s been featured in Brooklyn Community Service’s ONE Brooklyn Community campaign, “Many Voices, Many Stories.” Watch him talk about the campaign and his experiences as a transgender individual here.

And finally, our speakers keep popping up on each others’ podcasts. This month, Sally Kohn had Linda Sarsour on her new podcast, State of Resistance.

FRESH Speakers, Inc. is a next-generation speakers bureau, uniquely representing women and people of color--two groups historically left off the public stage. Our speakers range from business leaders to artists, scientists to athletes. They have given ground-breaking TED talks and written best-selling books, but, more importantly, their wisdom comes from real world, lived experiences. FRESH speakers routinely grace the world's biggest thought leadership stages, host nonprofit benefits, and keynote Fortune 100 corporate retreats, university lecture series, leading tech conferences, grassroots organizing convenings, and countless other venues, the world over.